Of Darkness and Music
by Vocalsama
Summary: He was always sad. Never wanting to have anything to do with the world around him. A boy who was always happy, helped conflict that darkness within him. He was a musician, and he was a scientist. Yet. He had helped him more than any science ever could.
1. Chapter 1

The blonde scratched his head, huffing and sighing with impatience as his foot tapped the ground incessantly as he stood in the corner of the lavishly decorated room. A man with his back turned hunched a little craning his neck over to look at the blonde, who kept fumbling with his long bangs in front of his face.

"_MYDE!_" The man whispered, rather angrily, through clenched teeth. The blonde looked up at gulped.

"Can't you see we're having a conversation! Get out if you're going to be all fidgety like that!"

"B-But Sir! It's just…I'm so nervous!" the man glared back him. The long blonde haired man, sitting behind the desk, chuckled a little, his red eyes gleaming over with laughter. Myde really didn't like the mans eyes. They were, after all, red. But he was the Lord of this magnificent castle, and he was, more than anything Myde would ever be. So he stopped his scrutinizing and sighed.

"OUT! Now! I don't care what you do for the rest of the time! Just be back by the caravan by dark! Understood!" he winced a little at the underlying meaning of his "captains" words. He nodded his head lowered as he turned back to the oak door and its golden doorknob.

"And DON'T BREAK ANYTHING!" He spun around.

"I told you that was accident! I didn't mean to do that!"

"Yeah well it'll come out of your pay next time!"

"FINE!"

"GOOD!"

"Nice meeting you, Ansem the Wise, sir." He bowed his face flushed with embarrassment, and anger, as he stormed out the door, his intricately designed robe clinking as the metal trinkets from it collided together as he stormed off down the hall.

The man turned back to Ansem, sighing as he ran a hand through his red hair.

"Teenagers…so temperamental sometimes." Ansem nodded smirking a bit.

"Is he new? I haven't seen him with you before, for the other times you came here." The man who's name was Bard, nodded.

"Yes. We found him on the road, not long after we left…from here actually. It was right after our first performance. I'm pretty sure he was going here to find a job. Poor lad. He was soaked through, and through, and shivering like a wet dog. So we took him in. He's quite good." Ansem's eyebrow rose as he folded his hands underneath his chin, in an interlocking position.

"Oh? What instrument?"

"Sitar. Not so common anymore. Quite interesting, really. Thought maybe he could make us more money with a…lets call it, exotic instrument. Got no brains, unfortunately. But he's quite the comedian. Always look to Myde if you're having a bad time." Bard chuckled as Ansem leaned back in his upholstered chair.

"Interesting…" _I believe I know one person who this boy could meet. Lets see if happens._

"AHHH! Where am I!" The blonde wailed, grabbing his hair in a panic as his eyes darted up and down the hallway. He stomped his foot.

"You'd think that with all this money, they could make the hallways…DIFFERENT LOOKING!" He yelled to no one, since no one was around. He huffed as he continued down the hallway. He stopped walking and turned to a door that was ajar a little.

"Oooh I wonder what's in here…" he smirked rubbing his hands together. He reached for the knob and he quietly pulled it open.

It didn't look like much. Kinda plain. He sighed and sat down on an unused bed. It was quite comfy really. He bounced up and down a little, in a somewhat childish manner. He giggled a little before getting up, the bed creaked, and it sent a shiver down his spine. Myde wasn't into the whole…ghost, creepy, supernatural thing.

A groan also sent him backing up into a bookshelf, knocking some rather delicate miniature statues to the floor.

"Oops." He gulped looking down at the things that were now in pieces on the floor.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!" Myde screeched and covered his head.

"PLEASE DON'T HURT ME, I DON'T TASTE VERY GOOD MR. GHOST!" He wailed, whimpering as he curled up in the corner. A man a little bit older than him sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes and yawning. His red eyes trailed over to the teenager whimpering in the corner of _his_ room. His arms crossed over his chest, as his pearly white hair fell neatly out behind him.

"Ghost…what are you blabbering about, boy?" Myde blinked, and turned around, to see a very angry, irritated, quite different looking, man. He opened his mouth to reply. _How the heck didn't he notice this guy was sleeping in the bed he was just sitting on!_

"Who are _you_!" the man asked again. His voice trying not to sound angry but Myde knew he was. Really was.

"AH…ah…I'M! A musician!" he blurted out, covering his face with his hand. The man snorted.

"Music. So frivolous and pointless. No scientific meaning at all." Myde furrowed his brows.

"Now that's just plain rude! Music is good for a lot of things! And why are you sleeping so late into the day! It's like…two o clock!" the man blinked.

"Excuse me, but you're in _my_ room, and _my_ castle. And you broke a few of _my_ things." He grumbled back at the boy, where'd he get the nerve to reprimand him…he sounded like Even when he mixed the wrong ingredients together in an experiment…which was quite scary, and annoying at the same time.

"OH! OH NO! Please! Don't tell anyone! I-I didn't mean to break them! Honest!" Myde replied looking wide eyed at the floor again. The man shrugged.

"I don't really care. This place isn't my home anyway…" the man replied dourly. Myde raised an eyebrow at this statement.

"But…if this isn't your home, why are you here?"

"I should be asking you the same thing. Why are you here?"

"I'm a musician. I'm playing in the concert tomorrow."

"And do you have any tangible proof? Can you truly be a musician? Where's your instrument? You could be a robber, or assassin for all I know."

"I don't really like blood."

"I was saying it hypothetically…"

"Oh. Well I do have an instrument! It's kinda odd looking, though!"

"Really, now?"

"Yep! It's called a sitar!"

"Never heard of it. Another reason not to believe you." Myde hung his head.

"Yeah. Well I never said you had to believe me." The other man looked up.

"Fine. I won't. But you never told me your name, musician."

"It's Myde. And what's your name?" he asked rather cheerfully. In truth, he was having a ton of fun right now. This guy was so bland like a piece of paper it hurt. Myde snorted, and the other man looked at him, eyes narrowing. He smiled back, waving a little.

"My name is Xehanort. I'm one of Ansem the Wises apprentices." Myde's eyes widened.

"WOW! That's so cool!" Xehanort backed away, seeing as how the boy was about a few inches from his face now.

"What's it like working with the big man, huh, huh! Fun probably!" he cleared his throat and smoothed his hair back.

"Hello good citizens of Radiant Garden! I am your King! Ansem the Wise! Have some ice cream!" Xehanort blinked, a slight smile stretching across his lips. Myde laughed. He wiped a tear from his eye. Noticing the man's expression go back to it's cold, stone like composure.

"Oh come on. That was totally funny! Why does he like ice cream so much, anyway?" the blonde asked, taping his index finger against his chin, in a contemplating motion.

"No. It wasn't…that was a very poorly done rendition of Ansem the Wise's character…I suggest you give up your career as an actor. You're not very good at it." Myde blinked, gulping a little.

_Okay…tough crowd, I guess?_

"And I don't really know, or care, why Ansem likes ice cream." Myde huffed putting his hands on his hips.

"Do you care about anything?" Xehanort blinked back at him, his eyes flashing.

"Why should you care, Myde. It's none of your business."

"Yeah, but. For someone who lives in a gianormus castle run by one of the best Kings out there, you sure seem pretty down." Xehanort turned away, his hands gripping the blankets covering him.

"Like I said…it's none of your business." The man replied icily. Myde was getting somewhere, then. He smirked inwardly.

"Then whose business is it?"

"MINE! And MINE alone! Now shut up and drop it!" Xehanort barked back his red eyes piercing into the blonde haired boys bright blue ones. Myde gulped. He turned to the window letting out a sigh as he placed his hand on the clear glass.

"I wish my parents could see this place." He said absentmindedly. He looked back at the white haired man, who was still sitting in bed, his head turned.

"What happened to them?" Xehanort asked. Myde sighed.

"Oh. You know. They went out and did something stupid…I had a fight with them before they left." He sighed again, blinking as he looked out at the bustling town surrounding the castle. "I guess I deserved that one…"

"No one deserves to be alone, Myde. Even if it was over one stupid argument…"

"How about you?"

"I don't remember." Xehanort replied quickly.

"What do you mean? You don't remember?"

"It's as exactly what it sounds like. I _don't_ remember. Either of them." Xehanort hissed. Myde walked over to him, looking at him curiously. Xehanort blinked and looked away.

"You can't remember…at all? Xehanort. What else can't you remember?"

"I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING! Alright! I don't know who I am! Or where I'm from! I…I don't even know my own name! Ansem the Wise gave me this name when he found me!" The man hit his balled fist against his head, growling in agitation.

"Why can't I remember anything about myself? I…I just want to know." Myde looked down at him with a sad expression.

"I'm sure it's just a slight case of amnesia. Your memory is bound to come back."

"How do you know? You're just a wandering musician with not a care in the world! How do you know anything!" Myde bit his lip and turned away, his glistening blue outfit casting a rainbow on the floor.

"Sorry. I was just trying to make you feel better, is all." Xehanort sighed.

"No. I should be apologizing." He laughed a little, "It's just…every single day since I've been here. I felt, like I don't belong. I really don't belong. This isn't my home. I know it sounds funny, but I just don't feel attached to this place. I-I don't belong here. I never will. People stare at me, whenever I walk down the streets because of my oddly colored hair. I wish I could tell them why, why I look like this, but I don't even know that! I know more about the people I work with than myself." He laughed again a stray tear falling down his cheek.

"Quite ironic…don't you think?" Xehanort said before going quiet. The room suddenly filled with an air of sadness, and emptiness as Myde looked back at the man with the white hair. He couldn't be more than a few years older than he, and yet, he was so sad, at such a young age! It made Myde pity the man.

"THAT'S IT!" He said aloud pounding a balled fist into the palm of his hand. Xehanort jumped a little and turned to the boy, a look of perplexity on his face.

"What's it?"

"I can't stand to see someone so sad who's so young! You're going to have to cheer up…right now!" Myde said. Smiling a little. Xehanort looked back down at his cupped hands, not saying anything.

"Aw! Come on! I know what'll cheer you up!"

"Let me guess…"

"YEP! Music!"

"…I didn't say anything, Myde."

"Oh…well…you would've gotten it anyway!" the blonde said laughing and rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't have my instrument on me though…so you'll just have to come to my performance tomorrow! But! In the mean time…cheer up a little, okay?" Myde asked, his eyes getting all watery as Xehanort glanced at him side longingly.

"Come on…I know you can do it!" Myde replied, smiling a tooth grin.

"You look positively idiotic with that expression." Myde hung his head, again.

"That's harsh Xehanort."

"I was just stating a fact. And how is music supposed to make me feel "better"?"

"Music makes everyone feel better!" the blonde replied, happily.

"It's not a proven fact, though."

"OH! You and your facts! Music doesn't need facts, Xehanort! It just needs people to listen to it, and emotions to feel it! And I think you still have both of those! At least the hearing part…or. Maybe you can read lips, like really, really well! I knew someone like that you know." Xehnort snorted, a smiling stretching across his face and he laughed out loud. Myde's eyes sparkled as he heard the man's first true genuine laugh since they had started this conversation. Myde gasped. _CONVERSATION! _He turned to the window. _It's almost nighttime!_

"OH MAAAN! I'm gonna be in so much trouble if I don't get back in time!" Xehanort looked at the boy as he paced around his room holding his hair is a rather anxious action.

"I don't know how to get out of this castle though! Xehanort! A little help with the directions?" Myde asked smiling again.

"You're positively hopeless, Myde. And I know this by just talking to you for a few hours…"

"At least I'm happy."

"Oh. Do shut up about that. Or I really won't go tomorrow."

"You're going to actually _GO!_" Xehanort shrugged.

"I might as well. This castle has been getting rather boring, lately." Myde smiled.

"Heehee. I knew you weren't as bland and boring as you looked." The blonde slapped his hands over his mouth as Xehanort whirled around from his position at his desk and glared.

"Oh? Is that what you thought me as?"

"N-n-n-n-NO! Of course not! I-I was just saying…you know. Haha. Bland is good too." He rubbed the back of his head and looked down as Xehanort shoved a piece of parchment into his hands.

"Just follow those and you'll get out in no time." Myde looked hesitantly at them.

"A-Are they correct? Because I made that bland comment while you writing them down…I don't know what you're capable of, you know?" Xehanort snorted and shoved the boy out his bedroom door.

"Goodnight Myde. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ah…uh…RIGHT! Stay happy till then, will you?" Myde said smiling as Xehanort narrowed his eyes. "Good night." He slammed the door in the blonde's face and turned back to his empty, quiet, room. He sighed.

He never had a conversation like that before. It irked him, really. The fact that a goofball like that musician just randomly came into his room, waking him from his peaceful dream. One which he hadn't had since he awoke here. Yes. His dreams were horrible. They were nothing but brief snippets of what he believed to be his past, no. He _knew_ they were from his past. He gripped his head. And slammed his fists onto his desk. None of them made sense! Why! Why couldn't he grasp something so simple! He grasped everything else! Hell! He was a scientist of the highest caliber. Besides Even, who dedicated his whole heart and soul to the subject. So why couldn't he figure out a simple equation like his past! It was a god damn mental block and is infuriated him to no end. The fact that he had confided in that boy something he never confided in anyone else, well, at least not as readily as any of the others he worked with. But why did he do it! There was no justifiable reason behind it! He was extremely angered right now.

"Stay happy my ass…" he growled as a knock came from his door. He whirled around.

"Who the hell is it!" He yelled.

"Humph! I'm sorry. Maybe I'll just barge in next time and yell about how Ansem wants to speak with you." Xehanort sighed.

"Sorry. Ienzo. Tell him I'll be right there, will you?"

"I'm not your messenger boy, Xehanort. You have legs, don't you? You can go talk to him yourself. Oh. And dinner is ready." He grumbled running a hand through his hair at the young boy's comments.

Well he had something he was either dreading or looking forward to tomorrow. He tried to smile into his reflection in the mirror. He grimaced.

"Foolish. I look like a damn fool, Myde!" He yelled at the mirror, stomping off as he stormed down the hallway to the eating area. He smiled though as he entered the room. Eleaus and Braig looked up. Dilan cocked his head to one side, noting a subtle change in the rather dreary man's complexion.

"My. This is rather intriguing. I should note this in my book don't you agree Ienzo? Xehanort smiling for once. Oh how the world is going to end." A man with long blonde haired replied. Braig snickered.

"Make you comments, Even. But I assure you. I have made a new friend today!" Xehanort stated smugly. Everyone blinked.

"A friend, Xehanort?"

"You went out of the castle?" Braig asked mouth agape.

"No. His name was Myde. And he is a frivolous air headed sitar playing musician. And he is my friend. Therefore when you all meet him tomorrow, you best be on your best behavior. He seems a tad bit, emotional I should say." Ienzo crossed his arms as the clinking of plates, cups, and forks was going on all about them.

"This is a rather interesting development I'd say."

"There's no science involved in this, Ienzo. Just the heart, I believe." Dilan replied.

"Rather ironic wouldn't you say, Xehanort?"

He shrugged smiling.

"Destiny is destiny I suppose. Naked to the eye but there all the same. Like music."

"Ha! The boy's corrupted you already!" Even said laughing.

"I rather think of it as giving me a new outlook on life. Yes. A new outlook." He sat silently with the rest and began to eat his meal, in the giant castle of Radiant Garden.


	2. Chapter 2

"NO!!! Leave me alone!!! Help me…! HELP!" His orange eyes flared open.

_W-Where…where am I?!_

There was a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach, a lone light shone down upon a little girl, clutching her favorite plush bear to her chest. The seams at the toy's stomach were ripped, torn, out by an unknown force. The bear's fur was ragged and old and darkened now by the girl's tears. She shook as a black figure, pitch black; with no signs of remorse grabbed her by the arm yanking her across the ground.

"AHHH!! MOMMY!" She wailed. His eyes burned as he picked himself up off the ground. He was lying on his back, staring at the nothingness around him. He was in his pajamas.

"HEY! H-Hey! Leave her alone!" he shouted pushing himself up off the ground, staggering a little at the fact that, there was no ground. Just blackness a deep unending…darkness. He cursed himself for his shaking voice, he knew who ever it was, who ever that figure was must be strong, stronger then he anyway. He hadn't had any training in any combat, only a few lessons from Briag, and those ended up with him in the infirmary, unable to get up. Another figure bloomed into view and he gasped, pausing a few feet from the both of them. The little girl sobbed one arm covering her eyes, silver tears streaming down her face, and the other held her bear, trembling, afraid.

"We knew you'd come…." The spoke in unison, an eerie pair of voices they were, and yet…so familiar. They both turned smiling, their teeth gleaming in the lone lights luminating glow. They took off their hoods and he gasped, taking a step backwards.

"N-No…you…you can't be…" And there, staring back at him four bright orange eyes malice and anger set inside each pair of them. The one with pitch white hair smiled as the one with silver almost matching hair stepped forward, his lips parted in an all too familiar vision.

"Oh but we are Xehanort…we are…the same." A blinding white light erupted through the blackness, shrouding both figures and their silver white hair in nothing but white. He held up his hand as if to block the piercing light's rays. He fell onto one knee, gasping, and clutching his chest his orange eyes wide with the insurmountable pain he was now experiencing. Wetness appeared at the rims of both orange orbs as the pain only doubled, and tripled.

_S-Stop…Stop the pain…PLEASE STOP!_

He gasped sitting up in his feathery down bed the sheets were a mess now and the pillows lay dormant and useless on the floor. He panted as if to catch his breath. He gripped the sheets that were still covering him and his plain white tee-shirt and pajama pants. His orange eyes looked about the room to find that no one was there, as usual, and no one ever would be. His lip quivered a bit as he curled up into a shaking ball upon his bed, holding his chest with a shaking hand.

"Why…why do I keep having these dreams?" it hadn't been the first time he had them, no, more like the second or third. He gripped his head, the pounding in his chest becoming nothing but a dull, bad, dream. He heard voices outside his door and recognized them as his colleges.

"Why do I have to do the chores?! You do nothing all day but sit in the lab and play with your chemistry set, Even!"

"I'll have you know my "playing" as you like to call it…is furthering OUR research, DILAN! While you go and fool around with Braig and get yourselves into childish trouble! You say I'm playing!"

"I'll do it…since you two don't seem to be coming to any conclusion…"

"No! Ienzo! Don't let Dilan's laziness make you do more work…" there was pause then, he could only imagine the dirty looks the three were shooting at one another. And then the blanketing silence was shattered by a small but resounding snap. He blinked alone, silently, in his empty room eyes peeling towards the door.

"I got an idea!" he knew it, Braig. He then sat up pearl white hair cascading gently and uniformly down his back, he felt much better now; his chest no longer throbbed in pain and his head seemed fine. Actually, he felt great as if his sleep was never disturbed in the first place. Could he have imagined it? If so…he smirked, it was a very vivid imagination to say the least. But there was something…something there something wasn't…right.

"Let's get that lazy bum, Xehanort, to do it!" He could tell no one had any objections, he sighed, peeling the curtains back as the sunlight pooled into his room, his bare feet touched the cold, hard, wood floor making him twitch a little as goose bumps rolled up his arms and the hair on his back stood up in response. He began to undress from his nightwear and into the same average daily wear of the castle, lab coat, black pants, and of course the traditional black boots. He turned as he heard feet clicking towards his door their sound bouncing off the walls.

"Sleepin' all day! Who the heck do you think you are…" the door slammed open and a yellow eyed Braig paused blinking at the young white haired man. Xehanort merely looked up as he continued to button his shirt up, as if this invasion of privacy was all but too common within the castle's walls. Braig's eyes widened a little as he stared down the young man. Xehanort blinked, narrowing his own orange ones in the midst of the silence that now spread between the two.

"What's wrong?" Xehanort asked in a rather half-hearted casual manner.

"You look like _hell,_ Xehanort…are you feelin' alright?" the boy shrugged at the question as if it were nothing at all and merely an annoying bug. There was a sigh from his own throat as his own dark tanned hand ran through his hair.

"I-I'm fine…Braig, now, what has to be done…" his vision had been going blurry for the entire time since he stood up, he knew something wasn't right, and now, it came full circle.

"XEHANORT!" He felt the wind brush the back of his neck as he fell, backwards, his eyes snapping shut, and darkness consuming him.

"EVEN! Even! Come Quickly!!"

_Where…am…I_

_You…_

_I_

He sat up, gasping, white-snowfall-like hair falling about his shoulders. He turned his head craning it to the side but seeing nothing.

"It's just like my dream…" he got up an instantly saw that the floor was black…no _everything_, was black.

_Waves?_

_Crashing…against?_

_What?_

_Who are…_

_You?_

He blinked as a pale blue orb appeared after sometime as he continued to walk forth.

"What is this place?" he asked as he stepped on what looked like a beach though it lacked the vivid bright colors of one, this one was dark, deserted, and empty. Nothing but blackened remains of a world that could have been. His eyes narrowed and he paused, mid-stride, boots sinking a little into what he could tell to be sand. Two similar black figures both sitting on black slabs of rock faced away from him. The one on the left hunched over a little a bone-chilling laugh erupted through the emptiness. The other…the other just sat there, silently. Both of their backs were to him but he saw, in that pale light, silver hair much like his own, in fact…

"What's so funny?!" he yelled, the laughter ceased and both figures heads turned unison…as one. He stepped backwards as their eyes came into view. Both sets of orange fiery eyes narrowed.

"Where…am I?!" he yelled again, this time his voice hinted the annoyance and aggravation due to the lack of an answer. His hands clenched and un-clenched and there began the forming of sweat in between his fingers and palms. Why? Why was he so nervous?

"One who knows nothing…can understand nothing." The one to the far right responded, back hunching over ever so slightly.

"Where do you think you are, Xehanort?" the other, the one to the left, asked. The hooded being turned his head towards the frightened man, his pristine face and silver hair glimmered in the false moon's light. Xehanort gulped looking around like a frightened animal, captured in the web of a creature far unknown to him, a foreign atmosphere; desolate and bleak in what it holds for the future.

"I-I don't…know" he whispered and the man with the darkened skin and white hair smirked.

"As expected. You truly are blinded by the light…" he blinked looking questioningly at his now shaking hands.

"W-Why…why am I…?" An utter silence. Not even the waves penetrated through to his ears.

The man whose name he did not know, laughed again, his familiar and amazingly similar orange eyes glowed in the shrouded dark coast of this unknown beach.

"This…is your heart." His eyes widened as the world around him shifted, melted away into a black empty void. There was no longer a moon, no longer rocks or any signs of civilization.

"So tell us, dear somebody of ours. Will you choose the door to the light, or the door to darkness?" they both asked in unison, although they both stood beside two separate identical white doors, those doors were the only things contrasting themselves outside the ominous suppressing darkness around him. He gulped.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" He yelled gripping his chest, as he felt a sharp pain erupt throughout his heart and body. He fell onto both knees hands slamming into what he thought was the floor of this place; for it was far too dark to tell anyway.

"Of course you know, you always know! You just have to awaken!" he was dragged to his feet by the man the one who; if they were still on the beach, would have been the one seated to the left. He stepped towards the doors, arm outstretching towards one of the two pale white identical doors. He could feel both figures smiling; but those smiles held no emotion nor compassion or care.

"Open your heart, Xehanort! Open it to the darkness, give birth to use your inner beings of shadow!" the more muscled of the two hissed. The being that was holding Xehanort up by the collar of his shirt turned to the other muscled black coated man.

"Silence you fool, you think he'd do it willingly like that?" He gulped, looking with one opened eye at the man, as he felt him release him. He panted stepping forward towards the light. His bare hands shook as he grasped a white knob of one of the doors, his breathing coming out in half shallow gasps. He felt this immense pressure…this immense eruption of pain explode through his chest and heart. The pain made him wince and grit his teeth together, one eye closed instinctively, as he began to turn the knob. The two men behind him, their smiles and piercing stares bore into him like a drill trying to tear apart what little stamina he had left.

"You cannot escape…your destiny."

_XEHANORT!!! XEHA-_

The table shook as the paled white haired youth shot up, his eyes wide and vibrantly alert at the figures surrounding him.

"Oh thank god! Xehanort!" He felt two strong hands go around his shoulders, as his eyes dulled again for a moment and he could have sworn he was about to pass out again.

"…D-don't let me…sleep." He mumbled incoherently.

"Give me that!" He knew that voice…it was…Even. The object he was referring to was a long needle. It was probably filled with some sort of medicine.

"Master Ansem!" A door slammed open followed by the flurry of gaping long strides. His vision was refocused and he found himself on one of the familiar lab tables of their very own laboratories. He mused inwardly. How ironic that he would be placed on one of the same tables that he was using for his own experiments. Everyone let out a breath of sheer and utter relaxation; tense shoulders slumped back to their normal positions.

"Xehanort! Are you…all right?" Someone asked him but he was far too stunned and confused to really comprehend anything at the moment.

"DUDE! Don't pull shit like that _ever again_!" Braig replied crudely. Dilan punched the man in the arm, causing Braig to glare at him and grumble something positively obscene under his breath. Even, who was right beside him, let out a rather tired sigh. He could tell the blonde was up all night from the previous day's hard work seeing as how bags of black were beginning to form under his eyes. He looked down at the young man; his once vibrantly green eyes were now dulled due to a few days lack of sleep. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with one-hand both eyes closed.

"Xehanort! Are you alright?!" He was shaken again and he turned, eyes narrowing at his Master's urgent and worried voice and expression.

"I-I'm fine!" He didn't intend for his voice to some out so harsh, but it did. He winced as he got up from the table swinging his legs over the side. A hard shove had him facing the ceiling again and a rather angry Even glared down at him, his eyes flashing malevolently.

"Even! L-Let me go! I have to get ready for that damned festival today!" Xehanort hissed and the room went deathly silent. He felt the older man's hand dig into his shoulder.

"Don't…tell me…that you expect me to let you go after all this."

"What are you!!" He felt it then.

Eleaus, who had been staring stoically at the whole scene, turned when he heard a beaker on the table beside him shift as if being pushed by something. His eyes widened and his orange brown head turned to the rather frail looking youth. "Ienzo…? What's wrong?!" He urged in a whispered tone. The youngest member was clutching his chest eyes wide and dulled the pupils dilated rather abnormally. Eleaus was about to say something, but he felt the young boy's hand go around his own bulky muscled arm and he shook his head as he panted his face drenched in sweat.

"YOU JUST COLLAPSED IN FRONT OF EVERYONE XEHANORT! You're not going anywhere!" Even's harsh and rather loud rebuttal made Eleaus' head jerk towards the blonde haired man. Ansem cleared his throat resting a reassuring hand on the blonde's shoulder. Even was…wasn't acting like himself. His attitude, his demeanor they all seemed to come out as rough and abrasive. It was nothing like the Even they were all so accustomed to working with.

"Even. It's all right. You'll tell us if you're experiencing anything strange won't you, Xehanort?" Ansem asked Even's head turning to his master's calm and composed face.

"But Master Ansem! This could-" Ansem just shook his head, a hand held up a little in Even's direction and the blonde haired scientist snapped his jaw shut. The two older men watched silently as Xehanort stormed out of the room, leaving in his wake a room filled with mixed emotions that he was no sooner going to be able to comprehend.

"That damned little bas-!"

He slammed his fists onto the lab table. Beakers tubes and various other instruments clinked together as he growled his hands balling into fists. A clearing of a throat caused him to turn.

"I-Ienzo!? I…didn't know you were here." Even replied meekly, turning back around to his position at the table which faced away from the door.

"Xehanort…he…he isn't sick." Even's head promptly shot up and he spun around to Ienzo.

"Oh? Then how do you explain his fall, Ienzo?"

"He's…emotionally sick Even. There's nothing wrong with him physiologically but his nerves his thoughts…they're so dark." Ienzo gripped his chest crinkling his lab coat with his ungloved hand. Even was standing before the boy now his hand on the young boy's shoulders.

"What do you mean by that?" Ienzo turned away biting his lip as his did so. To tell him this…it pained him. Even was the most diligent in their underground and unprecedented experiments of the heart even if it did go against their master's teachings and yet Ienzo had a bond with the older man, almost, and if not that of a mentor and student.

"His heart…it's becoming so cold." Ienzo whispered visibly shaking in the older man's arms. Even's eyes widened.

"Could…he possibly be…" Ienzo only shook his head back and forth unable to talk anymore due to the shake in his voice. Even turned around a hand going to his chin as he began to pace; his boots created a rhythmic click on the cool tile floor of the pristine, yet tarnished lab. The younger man's hunched shoulders straightened and he turned to the door as he heard it creak ever so slightly from being opened.

"It wasn't a reminiscing into the past if that's what you were thinking, Even. It's coming. Xehanort is no closer to remembering his past then he was the day we found him." The older blonde haired scientist turned a little an eyebrow clearly quirked up in bemusement and sheer skepticism.

"Nonsense, Ienzo. We are merely doing experiments on child's play! You actually think hearts can bring darkness? Ha! Quit thinking like a child that just read a fairy tale and more along the lines of what you really are." Even snapped back and he slammed the door fully open and stormed off as if that small mentioning brought an utter terror to the blonde's mind. Surely, being a man of science, Even would never give any lead way to his thoughts or plans, plans which he constantly formatted and reformatted within his mind, and yet…this single incident. Ienzo stopped in his own pacing, only to find himself staring at the blank neatly polished sliver operating table. His hand was upon his chin now and his eyes downcast. "What was it…that I felt?" His hands gripped the edge of the black marble counter-top, so much so that his knuckles had become pearl white. It was no normal feeling. There was definitely something very, very, wrong with Xehanort. The young man with the dark cobalt hair merely shook his head and turned towards the open door. He took graceful strides towards it, and with one hand turned and closed the door behind him.

He looked at his still shaking hand never once giving thought as to where he was going. Various guards and even Braig and Dilan tried to persuade him to lie down for just a bit long. But he couldn't. He had made a promise, one of the only promises he ever felt necessary to keep. That smile, it warmed him even thinking about it. He paused listening to the multitude of bird songs going on about him, it was funny though, they all seemed so dulled and muted to him. Why? He wondered. To his right was a long row of cherry blossom trees, each in full bloom and maturity. Their leaves sprinkled to the ground in a flurry of pink and white, diluting the sun drenched sky and air with their silky yet noticeable fragrance. He let out a deep sigh feeling utterly miserable and tired.

"Who…am I?" He whispered gripping the spot on his white lab coat where his heart resided. He didn't want to see Myde today, knowing fully well that he would only hamper the young enthusiastic boy's attitude and darken his day with his own melancholy aura. He sighed, his throat tightening, and dangerously so, his eyes began to sting.

"H-HEY! Xehanoooowhoa!!" Xehanort spun around as a loud thud and snap echoed through the garden. He merely smirked, arms crossing over his chest as the blonde righted himself and put himself in an Indian position on the ground. Myde waved up at the other man happily, a smile plastered across his face.

"What's up?!" Xehanort's throat closed up again, and he was unable to even mutter a single word.

Why? What was wrong with him? He…he wanted to tell someone how he felt, that the darkness he had experienced was like no other. How he was terrified of…of himself.

"Yooohooo? Anybody home? Geez, for a scientist you sure do space out a lot." Xehanort blinked and refocused on the current situation, Myde was about five inches from his own face, and he smelled a familiar tangy smell emanating off the blonde. Xehanort let out a shaky sigh, giving Myde undeniable proof that something was indeed wrong with the white haired man.

"Xeha-" Myde's lips snapped shut as Xehanort's face turned away, his eyes darting downward. His right hand gripped his left arm, and dangerously tight, his eyes filled with nothing but pain. Myde reached for Xehanort's shoulder, but the other man stepped back shaking his head.

"I-I'm sorry…Myde. I'm-I'm not in a very talkative mood today." Xehanort mumbled the burning in his throat causing those few sentences to cause him extreme guilt and pain. Myde looked quite worried and disheveled a bit at how Xehanort was acting, and he couldn't quite bear to even glimpse at him. He wanted him to leave, he was so…festive, and here he was in, sulking in his usual scientific garb. He didn't even know if he had other clothes, but he probably did, he just…didn't want to be alone. Myde tilted his head.

"Xehanort…you can talk to me, you know? If you…if you keep it bottled up inside like that it's bound to hurt not just you but the others around you! So…please, let me at least try to help." Xehanort knew he couldn't help him, knew that even if he did tell him about the frequent reoccurring nightmares and that his heart ached painfully so after each one, he wouldn't be able to do anything for him. But he eyed the blonde haired youth, his vision blurring a little do to tears welling up in his eyes.

"These…these dreams…no nightmares I've been having," he gripped his hair in small tuffs, as if he had a headache of some sort. "They…hurt." Xehanort whispered as if there was something following the both of them, waiting for him to slip up and let his defense down. Myde blinked obviously concerned now.

"Did you talk to your pals in the castle? Maybe they could help?" He saw the white haired man shake his head back and forth, no.

"They don't believe in that stuff, Myde! They only look at the world through scientific eyes! Calculating whether it's a chemical signal malfunction or maybe it's because a synapse broke! They never look at…like you, or I would." Xehanort mumbled eyes and head now looking at the fresh, vibrantly green, grass beneath both their feet. Myde placed a hand on the tense man's shoulders, feeling Xehanort flinch a little as he did so.

"I'll try to help, okay?" Myde whispered smiling a little his golden brownish blonde hair glittered in the afternoon sun's light.

"I just feel…like something inside of me…something dark, is going to-to change who I am." Xehanort whispered both hands balling into fists; he clenched them so hard that his knuckles turned white. Myde couldn't help but look disturbed, and concerned. Yes it was true he had only met Xehanort yesterday and for a few brief-glimpsing moments…but, he knew, deep down inside his heart this was not how the other man usually normally acted.

"Xehanort…" he whispered, grabbing hold of one of the white haired man's shoulders. Xehanort merely bowed his head as if that recent confession had made him look like nothing but a fool. "You…you're not going to change. Xehanort will always be Xehanort in my eyes!" Myde heard the other man gasp and he saw his head shoot up, his eyes glazed over with tears that would not come.

"I-I'm sorry…Myde, to confide all of this to you I'm just so…frightened. The nightmares I've been-" Xehanort was cut off by a finger shoved into his face.

"C'mon. Let's go into town for a little while!" Myde stated happily, smiling a broad toothy smile as he tugged on Xehanort's limp, but resisting arm.

"N-No it's quite alright…people down in the town don't take very well to my appearance." Xehanort muttered, Myde's grip slackening a little and just as fast as it had happened he readjusted his grip to something equal of that of a vice. This caused the scientist to wince a little at the pain.

"What're you…"

"If they have problem with the way you look, they can answer to me! Or…hahah you're buddies, I'm not that strong." Myde mumbled pursing his lips as he began to drag a resilient Xehanort out behind him. Xehanort could do nothing more but smile, the sunlight of the bright afternoon dancing lightly over his face.

"Ahhh so that's Xehanort's little buddy, huh?" Braig grumbled leaning his chin on a balled fist, which he had placed on a leg that was propped up against the windowsill. Dilan merely grunted with an assumed notion that he was actually paying attention to Xehanort and his little play date. "I can't believe Ansem let him go out after that whole ordeal…" Dilan muttered in distaste, the whole morning's ordeal left a bitter taste in the older man's mouth. And he couldn't help brush off the feeling that there was a certain underlying meaning to all of it. Braig chuckled.

"Don't worry so much. Xehanort would tell us if anythin' was wrong anyway!" Dilan rolled his eyes as he stuffed a sock covered foot into a black shiny boot. Dilan then turned to Braig and eyed him as if urging him to commit some sort of action. "You ready to go out to this festival thing or not?"

Braig merely sighed and shrugged.

"I think that kid is good for him."

"What?"

"You know, the sitar player is good for Xehanort, get his mind off all the stuff we've bein' doing, if ya know what I mean?" Braig only heard the familiar, yet acknowledging grunt of his fellow peer, and then he heard the thud of feet walking across the floor. He turned ready to go even before Dilan's question arose from his lips.

"I'm comin'." He muttered turning back to see the garden empty and the distinct sunlight playing off the dew of freshly budded flowers.

"M-Myde…please, can we just _go_." Myde didn't like the tone of Xehanort's voice…it was almost as if he was…_afraid_. Why should he be though?! This was his home! This was where he grew up and lived, and all these people…he felt Xehanort go tense against him as if he were a frightened child.

"Xehanort…" he only then began to note the looks of hostility and flares of difference the people around them were giving his white haired friend. Xehanort's eyes were down cast and not willing to move anywhere else. He was trembling a little and Myde knew that the distinct glint in his eyes was not a ruse or joke. He was definitely _scared_. The blonde paid for the confectionary foodstuffs he had wanted to buy and was about to return to the large checkered tent off in the distance.

"What the hell do you think you're doin' out here, freak?! What? Is Master Ansem's castle not suited enough for you?!" Myde whirled around only to see a rather burly man grab his friend by the collar and literally lift him a few inches off the ground. Only then did Xehanort wince shutting his eyes a little and then looking out to left, a pleading look on his face for Myde to help him.

"Look at me when 'm talkin' to ya! You damn brats under Ansem's wing! Think you have all the rights in the world, huh?!"

"N-No…that's not-" The man surely wouldn't listen to any objections or reasons and he merely tossed Xehanort away and to the side. Xehanort stumbled to the side his hand rubbing his slightly chaffed neck.

"I-I'm sorry…I'll l-leave now." Xehanort managed to mutter his orange eyes wide with fear and anxiety. Myde couldn't stand it. This was a day of celebration! Happiness! Not this…this fighting!

"STOP!" Everyone in the vicinity paused, turning their attention to the blonde haired sitar player, whose name was unknown but his music was loved and adored by all that heard it.

"Excuse me?!" The burly man snarled it disgusted Myde. Acting like a savage animal almost! Xehanort looked as if he was encountering the reaper himself and he merely stood rooted to the ground his eyes never going to the various angered looks of the other townspeople around him. He gulped holding a hand up towards Myde.

"Myde…please, let's just _go_. I-I don't want to start…" Xehanort felt a rather sharp object prod into his back and he could only one thing and gasp. He stumbled forward and turned towards a rather rural looking man who hand a pitch fork, for stacking hay, in his blistered hand.

"Listen! Please just listen a moment!" Myde yelled to the now rather angry mob that was surrounding the both of them. Xehanort was clearly sweating and frightened to no end, this is what he had meant. Myde looked down at the man with his crystal blue eyes. This was his fault…and he wasn't about to let Xehanort get hurt over his stupid mistake!

"Listen?! Why the hell don't you listen, you goddamn gypsy! That little bastard over there…" Xehanort flinched and hunched his shoulders a little as an accusatory finger pointed at him, "took everything he was given for advantage! He doesn't belong here! The damn whelp is a freak show! He's making Radiant Garden look bad! Just because he was founded by Master Ansem…and then taken in! What the hell makes him so special that neither of our sons or daughters could be taught by Ansem?! And yet he goes off and picks up…up…FREAKS! Out in the damn alley ways no less." There was agreed shouting and jeers. Xehanort bit his lip his orange eyes never looking up, too afraid to look up, at the now rather large conglomerate of townspeople. He hated this…he never wanted this. He didn't even know what to say he just wanted…he just wanted to go back home. HIS HOME! His real one! He never felt like he fit in even when he was being nursed back to health in the castle. It never stood right, nothing ever stood right. The looks, the sheer vehemence he got. And yet…at this moment he felt warm, yes, he felt as if he actually belonged.

"Look at you! You say Xehanort is the one that makes Radiant Garden look bad?! Look at yourselves! You hate him just because he's different looking! That's no reason to hate someone! Xehanort is nice! You just have to get to know him and actually talk to him! Not automatically judge him because his hair is white, or his eyes orange!" Myde huffed. His face was tinged red and his eyes damp with what could possibly be the on-start of tears. In and throughout his speech the people on and near the vicinity shot looks of contempt, anger, and utter frustration at the two young men. Xehanort felt that although Myde's speech was touching and true, there was an underlying hatred that was heavly ingrained into these people.

"M-Myde…lets go…_now_! Please." Xehanort whispered, gripping the sitar players arm the elegant and silky shirt slipping through sweat drenched fingers.

"What the hell do you know! You damn performer. Don't come into our town and start messing with how things are run here!" The muscled man, the one from before, shouted and he shoved Myde to the side and turned his attention to Xehanort, who backed up rigidly into the circle of angry, shouting people.

It came again as fast as a bolt of lightning. The splitting headache, it made Xehanort want to wrench up what very little food he had all day.

_Do it…KILL THEM! You know you can, Xehanort._

Laughter. The two voices…the two men from his dream? He gasped and grabbed his head. The people around him jeered and he felt a stronger grip clasp around his rather frail shoulder. He heard someone cry out in pain. Was it him?

_Oh you know you want to. So..why not? What do these people mean to you anyway? They are but experimental meat. HAHA! Yes! Kill them! RELEASE YOUR DARKNESS AND KILL THEM!!!_

"NO! Shut up!!!" He yelled at no one in particular. Myde managed to push through the throng of people. He was bleeding…Xehanort's arm was bleeding…Myde himself was untouched and he ran between the man and his friend, blue eyes blazing with anger.

Xehanort was down on the ground on one knee. His right arm bleeding rather profusely and instinctively his left hand went to grip the now red stained patch on his shirt where his injury laid. Myde turned to the white haired youth his own azure blue eyes widened. Xehanort's face… it was contorted for a moment into what Myde could only classify as deranged, angry, and evil…pure darkened evil. The orange eyes of now bore no resemblance to the tear filled one's he had encountered before and it frightened him, it truly did. Xehanort's breathing drastically changed into short, raspy, breathes.

"Xeha…nort?" Myde whispered the change in the demeanor and attitude of his friend was nothing but shocking and worrisome to the blonde. Xehanort stood up, the shaking and fear completely drained and gone from him now. The bulky man, who was a farmer probably, stepped backwards a bit clearly taken aback by the sudden gall and courage the young scientist had randomly mustered. Everything went silent around him. The farmer gasped at the sheer blanketing darkness he was now experiencing with his own eyes. He backed away from Xehanort, clearly frightened.

"W-What the hell is going on?! Where are we, you freak?!" Xehanort straightened his head, orange eyes flaring with undeniable anger. He was changed, completely changed.

"What the hell are you?!" The shout resounded through the comforting darkness. A laugh, unlike his own, erupted from his mouth. He lifted both hands into the air and tilted his white haired head upward, eyes wide with crazed amusement.

"HAHA! I…I am…the one true master of the blade, yes, true…master" The man had no idea what was going on and he himself was now shaking as he eyed the darkness around him. It was as if…as if it were _alive_. He turned to look back at Xehanort, who in turn, looked at him a sickeningly sadistic smirk on his face.

"NOW DIE!" It was as if the young scientist was but merely a flash of light, his body became nothing but a white blur against the surrounding darkness.

"A-Ah! No-wait…!" The man gasped as he looked down to find the white haired youth, who's hair floated about him as if alive, smiling an uncovered hand outstretched towards the man's heart.

"You will die…as will EVERYONE ELSE!" A scream, one that shot through Xehanort's mind and body, erupted from around him. He gasped hand dropping immediately to his side. A long sharp pointed spear was now sticking out of the ground not even a foot away from the farmer's booted foot. The farmer was pale white, and his companions around him tried shaking him from his obvious shocked state. He was staring, with now dulled eyes, at Xehanort who was still a good few feet away, Myde still between them.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

"Outta the way, damn it!"

Myde turned to Xehanort who slumped to the floor, head turned downward his snow white hair cascading around him.

"XEHANORT!" Myde ran to his side, putting an arm around the young man's waist and hoisting him back onto his feet. Myde looked into those dulled orange eyes almost frightful of seeing them changed yet again. He shook Xehanort, gently though, as if to try to wake him.

"Xehanort answer me!"

"Yeah, yeah that's right! Back the FUCK off you goddamn ingrates!" Braig snarled doing a double take of both Myde and Xehanort.

"What happened here?!" Dilan asked rushing over to the clearly upset sitar player. Myde merely looked up at him and shook his head. "I-I don't know…I don't understand what just happened." Myde whispered more to himself than anyone else. He blinked and his eyes refocused to a bright crystal blue azure sky, the powerful light of the sun caused him to shout out in pain. Xehanort sat up, clearly being held in someone's arms and turned to see a tear stained face of Myde looking back at him. He smiled and sat up.

"M-Myde…Dilan? Braig?! What're you…what happened…the townspeople!"

"Shh! It's fine. Their gone now." Dilan stated with a kind smile as he helped Xehanort to his feet. The white haired youth blushed a little, "Th-thanks Dilan, Braig." He let out a gasp as a powerful hand rammed into his back and Braig yet out a barking laugh.

"Don't mention it buddy!" Braig said, a sheepish smile spreading across his lips.

"Aww man I dropped all my food…" Myde mumbled with dissatisfaction and personal bereavement of actually having dropped the said foodstuffs. Dilan and Braig turned to one another, Braig shrugged and Dilan merely nodded.

"WOW! You sure have good friends in the castle, Xehanort!" Myde said happily as he licked his fingers of sticky residue left by a sweet caramelized apple. Xehanort turned back to the blonde and snorted.

"If you say so. They're not so nice when it's time to hand out chores…" Xehanort mumbled, remembering how many times he got stuck with bathroom duty. He heard Myde sigh a little as they continued on the dirt path.

"So…where is this place you're takin' me to?" Xehanort wagged a finger at the blonde.

"We'll be there shortly, honest." Xehanort replied in his normal dull tone.

It was strange…he had reverted back to his old self…and now it was as if none of that ever happened. Myde bit his lip, he couldn't take it anymore! He needed to know!

"Xehanort…what that man said about you, finding you out in the alley-way…"

"It's true." Myde gulped. "S-Sorry I was just…"

"It's perfectly fine to be curious, Myde. All scientists are anyway!" Xehanort replied with a smile, which quickly fell into a stoic masked of probably mixed emotions.

"Master Ansem said I was near death…" Xehanort whispered both hands finding their way to his hair. "I don't remember though! I DON'T KNOW HOW!" He slammed a balled fist into a nearby tree. Myde jerked to a stop. Xehanort turned to him a sorrowful expression plaster onto his face.

"I'm sorry for ruining your day, Myde…I guess that's the effect I have on people."

"HEY! That's not true! I had a great day!" Myde said with a pout as he pointed back down to the city, its streets now starting to illuminate with lights and sounds of the nighttime of the festival. "I usually have to walk around by myself every year! But…but not this time because you were there with me…Xehanort." Myde replied with a smile.

"I sometimes…want to know who my parents were you know. What kind of people were they…and if I had any siblings! I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or a sister." Xehanort whispered his eyes looking upward towards the now sunset sky. Oranges, reds, yellows and black now collided in a masterful way that every time he saw a sunset he wondered just how it was managed to be so utterly perfect, so utterly beautiful. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Oh wow! This spot is perfect for watching fireworks, Xehanort!" Myde said rushing forward. They had continued walking, though; Xehanort rarely noticed seeing as how his mind was elsewhere. He shook himself from his inner thoughts and ran to catch up with the blonde.

"It really is pretty up here." Xehanort nodded and took a small bite of his food.

"I usually come up here to get away from everything, you know? It's so secluded…and peaceful." Xehanort remarked as he leaned up against the lone oak tree that was in the grass green clearing. It was a cliff face, which stretched out towards the city and the only thing that stood atop it was a tree. The castle stood out like a sore thumb against the town below it. The silhouettes put a nice touch on things as well.

"I'm afraid, Myde…" The blonde, who had been laying on his back staring up at the sky silently, hands behind his head, sat up grass sticking to his hair. He huffed leaning rather close to the young scientist.

"T-That I'll change…" Xehanort stammered at the close proximity between him and his newfound friend.

"LISTEN! Xehanort will always be Xehanort to me! And nothing is going to change that! Even if you do change…you'll always be the same to me Xehanort. I don't know how you're going to change…and I wish I could help you, but, if you ever need cheering up you know who call!" Myde replied with a big smile. Xehanort laughed a true genuine laugh at the blonde who blinked confused at the sudden onslaught of the other man's laughter.

"What?! I'm serious!"

"I-I'm sure you are." Xehanort said through gasps as he turned back to the city.

"Say Myde…let's hear some of that amazing music you claim to be able to play." Myde looked flustered.

"Y-You doubt my playing?!" Xehanort snorted. "Not at all, but being a scientist I can't take anything as true until I've seen it with my own eyes."

"All you scientists are so pretentious!" Xehanort laughed again, but stopped suddenly as a melodious tune escaped through the air. He turned to Myde whose eyes were closed and his hands moved automatically upon the strings of the instrument, as if he and the sitar were one with each other, symbiotic in scientific terms. Like water flowing over rocks it was truly amazing to watch the blonde work and the music…was so captivating. He sighed and leaned back against the tree, the silence and slight rushing breeze putting his ill eased mind finally at rest.

There were pops coming from the distance, and Xehanort saw through closed eyelids flashes of light. The music had stopped, much to Xehanort's dismay, but the fireworks were truly always a sight to behold. He turned to Myde whose face was filled with a child like amusement and wonder.

"I've never seen fireworks before! They're beautiful!" Xehanort nodded and turned back to sitting silently and watching.

"They always are…"

_It was always nice to have someone to lean back upon, even if you knew something you couldn't stop from happening was going to happen in the end anyway. Such was life he supposed. Everyone in the castle…everyone living here, he hoped the best for them and Myde. Oh how the antics of a single solitary being could bring him so much comfort…so much joy. He'd truly miss him when he left…but that was life he supposed._

"C'mon Even! The fireworks are starting!" Ienzo shouted as he put on his black coat. Even rolled his eyes at Ienzo's sudden childish actions of wanting to see the mundane and annual firework show, though he did secretly love to watch them as well and it was always nice to get out once in awhile. He had been in the middle of an experiment, damn it! He had no time for such…such pointless things! He grumbled underneath an exasperated as he heard the racket of pops and shouts of glee coming from children watching the spectacle of fireworks.

"You see them every year, what's different about now?" Even grumbled; flipping his long blonde hair out from underneath his coat.

"You said they might not even have them next year! So we have to see them one last time." Ienzo shouted back.

"Yes. That's because of the stupidity of Braig and Dilan are so called scientific companions."

"Weren't they drunk when they did that though? Say didn't you get drunk too?" Even's head bowed and he rubbed the bridge of his nose. He knew Ienzo was smiling with mirthless amusement.

"Yes…unfortunately."

_Yes. Everyone and everything might change at one point…but there were always memories to look back upon, right?_

"Hahah Ninety-Nine bottles of beer on the wall ninety-nine bottles of beer!" The drunken duo shouted, slamming drafts of yellowish beer together as other men around them sang in drunken stupor.

"I looove festivals!" Braig slurred eyeing a rather promiscuous woman. "I'd totally tap that…" he mumbled and woman shot him a furious, deathly, stare.

"Ah…yeah. This sake is better than normal. HEY BARTENDER! Maybe you should try making it like this all the time! We might not have to get drunk before coming here to drink!" They both laughed as angry shouts to get the hell out came from the bartender.

"Ah. Remember when we lit those fireworks in Even's lab…and the castle?" Braig asked snickering. Dilan eyed him and wrapped his arm around his black ponytail companion. They both smiled deviously and headed off towards the main attraction.

_Sometimes the darkness within our hearts becomes far too strong for us to cope with anymore…sometimes we need that person to help us that companion who we know can bring us out of that darkness._

"Say…Myde." The blonde turned back to the white haired man.

"Yea-AH!" He looked down at the young scientist who now had him in a hugging embrace.

"Thanks…for everything today." Myde could only smile, he knew how awkward Xehanort was when it came to giving thanks, being on his own for so long…never really having anyone to help you with anything. He knew how that felt and it felt good to know that there was at least someone in this world…that appreciated him not just for his music.

"No problem Xehanort. That's what friends are for, right?"

"Yeah. You're right Myde, you are definitely right."

_Fin_


End file.
